Kobe Bryant played his last game in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, and in many ways, Kobe saw it as a passing of the torch. Sure, the Warriors already won a title last season, and Kobe hasn’t been the gatekeeper for excellence for quite some time, but he’s still Kobe, and he gave Golden State a level of respect he didn’t give others.
Part of that respect included a special gift for Draymond Green: autographed sneakers.
Star struck by two players when I entered the league… G Hill and @kobebryant THANK YOU!!! Much respect!!! pic.twitter.com/ygzmaLYI4X
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) January 15, 2016
Green admits that he was star-struck by Kobe when he entered the league (as well as Grant Hill — did you know they overlapped? Hill played a long time, man), and Kobe has enough experience with star-struck folks to know exactly what to give them. Autographed sneakers are very high up on the memorabilia food chain, and now Green has his own pair — and from a night they shared on the court, no less.
The fervor of the Kobe retirement tour has died down somewhat, and that’s for the best; praise and tributes can’t be constant or they lose their meaning. But don’t think for one second that these farewells aren’t deeply meaningful to the fans or players he’s affected over his career.
